The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for the contemporaneous delivery of data and, more particularly, to such a method and apparatus which employs an existing transmission medium for the delivery of the data and which includes means for providing a printed or hard copy of the delivered data.
In the past, numerous methods have been employed for the contemporaneous delivery of data, particularly printed or hard copy data, from one location to another. The most prominent prior art method involves point-to-point facsimile transmission from a single transmitter location to a singe receiver location, generally over a telephone, or similar hard wire line or facility. With such existing facsimile or fax systems, the receiving fax machine automatically prints a hard copy of whatever information is received with no control or selectivity on the part of a fax machine user.
A need has developed for a system to permit the simultaneous transmission of information or data from a single source location to multiple receiving locations in order to facilitate efficient widespread contemporaneous dissemination of the information. Such a system is particularly desirable for use in transmitting large amounts of information and/or data and which permits a user at the receiving location to obtain a printed or other form of hard copy only of selected portions of the received information or data.
The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for the contemporaneous delivery of information and/or data, preferably in ASCII form or some other readily codable form, over an existing transmission system such as a standard television or radio broadcasting system. The information or data could be transmitted "live" or it could be prerecorded as could the television or radio broadcast. With the method and apparatus of the present invention all of the information and/or data is preferably transmitted on a subcarrier frequency of a standard radio or television broadcast transmission signal. At the receiver location, the transmitted information and/or data is separated from the rest of the standard broadcast signal and is stored in a memory device for selective printing of a hard copy upon receipt of a cue signal.